Noel O'Flynn, who did not defend his Cork North Central seat in 2011, said he was on holiday when legal documents in relation to the case were sent to his business rather than his home address.

The millionaire businessman said he felt "shock, surprise and disbelief" when he later learnt about legal proceedings.

Yesterday, he successfully applied to Cork District Court to have a judgment against him set aside.

The former TD, who will be 61 this month, was sued by Glanmire Community News (GCN) of Riverstown, Co Cork. GCN claimed it was owed €1,000 for the production and distribution of political flyers for Mr O'Flynn in 2010.

They had secured judgment against Mr O'Flynn earlier this year but the dispute will now revert to full hearing in the New Year after he successfully argued that the mistake in not sending legal documentation to his home address interfered with his ability to mount a full defence against the claim.

Counsel for Mr O'Flynn, Jay Gokul, told Judge Con O'Leary that Mr O'Flynn was on holiday in Mexico in December 2011 when a registered letter was sent to one of his business addresses in Blackpool rather than to his home in Blarney.

As a result, he was left unaware of the court proceedings.

Counsel for GCN, Michael O'Dowd, opposed the motion and said that an employee of Mr O'Flynn had signed for the documentation.

The judge set aside the ruling and listed the case for mention on January 7.